IN CASE YOU MISSED IT–Schedule of Reuters features from this week

This week, Reuters highlights stories of China's pet owners investing in puppy preschools and indigenous Taiwanese paddling to the Philippines to revive a centuries-old maritime route.

June 18 - Every week, Reuters journalists produce scores of multimedia features and human-interest stories from around the world. Below are some stories from this week selected by our editors, ​as well as explanatory context and background to help you understand world headlines. For a full ​schedule of news and events, please go to our editorial calendar on Reuters ‌Connect.

China's ​pet owners splurge on preschools to pamper puppies SHANGHAI - A new kind of preschool in China offers games, nibbles, treadmills and music for puppies, clawing out a fast-growing niche in a booming industry as youthful owners spend more on pets increasingly regarded as family. (CHINA-PETS/PRESCHOOL (TV, PIX), 428 words)

Indigenous Taiwanese paddle to the Philippines reconnecting long-lost route ORCHID ISLAND, Taiwan - A group ‌of indigenous Taiwanese are paddling to the Philippines on a hand-built wooden canoe across the Bashi Channel, reviving a maritime route dormant for hundreds of years and re-establishing a lost cultural connection. (TAIWAN-CULTURE/ (TV, PIX), 376 words)

Scientists identify 64,000 sq miles of coral reef capable of surviving climate crisis SINGAPORE - Scientists have identified nearly 166,000 sq km (64,000 sq miles) of coral reefs that are capable of surviving and recovering from climate change, three times more than previously estimated, research showed. (GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/CORAL (PIX), 331 words)

Yes, the universe's expansion ‌is still accelerating, researchers say WASHINGTON - Taking a fresh look at data involving a specific type of stellar explosion, a team of researchers says it has confirmed the long-accepted notion that the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate - the ‌very observation that led to the identification in the 1990s of an enigmatic cosmic force called dark energy. (SPACE-EXPANSION/ (PIX), 772 words)

Praying for a World Cup miracle? Fans flock to baby Jesus in Mexico kit MEXICO CITY - In Mexico City thousands of fans are making the pilgrimage to the capital's cathedral to pray to a baby Jesus dressed in a Mexican soccer kit, asking for World Cup victory. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP/MEXICO-JESUS (TV, PIX), 390 words)

Merlin the duck: From Mexico City streets to World Cup stardom MEXICO CITY - A domesticated duck named Merlin, sporting a miniature Mexico shirt and custom duck socks, has waddled his way into the ⁠hearts of football ​fans, becoming an unlikely unofficial mascot for the country's World ⁠Cup campaign. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP/MEXICO-DUCK (PIX, TV), 319 words)

Vancouver soccer shop basks in World Cup spotlight nearly five decades on VANCOUVER - On East Hastings Street, where Vancouver's soccer heart has quietly beaten for almost half a century, Ferruccio Susin is witnessing a lifelong dream unfold - a World Cup on Canadian soil - from behind ⁠the counter of the store that has grown alongside the game. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-CAN/ (TV), 531 words)

The World Cup returned to Mexico after 40 years. Many locals feel left out MEXICO CITY - Despite the World Cup returning to their country for the first time in four decades, many in Mexico said they ​feel excluded, priced out of stadiums, forced to pay for expensive TV subscriptions and constrained by strict licensing rules that have limited the number of bars — particularly in less well-off areas — showing the games. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP/MEXICO-EXCLUSION (PIX, TV), ⁠1,043 words)

‘Toy Story 5’ tackles tech tensions and tween girl trials EMERYVILLE, California - For actor Joan Cusack, who voices the animated cowgirl Jessie in Disney's “Toy Story 5,” it was important that the film tell a different kind of story — one centered on the experiences of girls. (FILM-TOY STORY 5/ (TV, PIX), 539 words)

Older, not ⁠wiser 'Jackass' ​crew reunite for final emotion-filled film LONDON - Extreme stunt and prankster collective "Jackass" put their body parts on the line one more time in "Jackass: Best and Last," billed as their fifth and final feature film. (FILM-JACKASS BEST AND LAST/LONDON (PIX, TV), 468 words)

‘Fallout’ producer lauds tax breaks for luring show to Hollywood SANTA CLARITA, California - As guests milled around a cavernous sound-stage that houses one of the sets from the Amazon Prime Video series “Fallout,” writer and producer Jonathan Nolan hailed the role tax incentives ⁠played in bringing the production to California. (TELEVISION-FALLOUT/ (PIX, TV), 586 words)

A decade on from Brexit vote, divided brothers are both disappointed NOTTINGHAM, England - Two businessmen brothers who held opposite positions on Brexit at the time of the vote are both feeling disappointed ⁠10 years on. The disillusion felt by Nigel Baxter, who ⁠has a commercial vehicles business, and Ian Baxter, who owns a logistics company, over the UK's departure from the European Union reflects the feeling across the country. (BRITAIN-EU/BROTHERS (TV, PIX), 549 words)

EXPLANATORY CONTENT EXPLAINER -Has Trump achieved his goals in the war with Iran?

NEWSMAKER-Netanyahu, Israel's arch-survivor, set to face voter fury over Iran deal FACTBOX-Trump administration pivots to buying stakes in critical sectors

FACTBOX-What to ‌know about historic Kyiv monastery damaged in Russian ‌strike EXPLAINER- Middle East oil and gas output will take months to fully recover

FACTBOX-How Brexit is estimated to have hit ​the UK economy (Compiled by Mark Porter and Patrick Enright)